The Wagon

I can't seem to stay on it.  I have jogged/walked 3 days this week so far and did some yoga one day.  I've got to be consistent, that's so hard for me.  I'm trying to eat better and I have done okay this week.  It's a battle for me. I'm really trying to remind myself that this is for my health.  UGH!!

In other news, I tried my hand at making pickles this week with my friend Lori. We had a lot of fun and they seem to have turned out pretty well.  It reminded me of my friend Michelle in North Carolina.  She was a master at canning, preserving, and just homemade stuff.  She knew it all.  We had so much fun with that.

That's all I've got today.  It's only 8am and I might be ready for a nap.

Running

So, I'm trying to be better to my body.  We're trying to cut out all foods with high fructose corn syrup & hydrogenated oils....do you know that's in a lot of what I like??? I actually feel better eating this way but I'm still craving dr. pepper & diet coke.  So, this week, in honor of my body, I started running again.  And I use the word "running" very loosely.  I think I'm going to have to start over with the couch to 5K program to build up my endurance.  I'm not super happy about this change. I like to eat and not exercise BUT I also like to live and be healthy. I want my kids to see my being healthy too.  They're worth it and so am I:)

So, at Catalyst Church we're doing a series on Revelation. I have really enjoyed it. If you want to catch up, watch it here.  It's been very thought provoking.  A few weeks ago the phrase said was something like this, "We may not have what we want but God provides all we need."  Honestly, I have really struggled with that ever since.  A friend and I even had a conversation about it after church this last Sunday because it was so powerful for her. My initial reaction to that is, we don't always have what we need.  There are Christ loving people who are hungry and poor and they don't have what they need.  And I hear people, mostly Christians (I hate to say it), say things like, "I'm blessed with this money or this thing or this job."  And I don't fault them for that but I'm just not sure how I feel about it.  When we first moved here and had 2 house payments for 14 months.  I was talking to some very well meaning people and they were talking about when they moved, their house sold in 2 weeks and how they felt so confirmed with their decision because God blessed them with a quick sell.  It bugged me because God still blessed us even paying double house payments. We were taken care of but I when I say we were blessed I mean in our relationship with Him. We drew closer than we ever had before because we were so desperate for Him and HIS provision.  And by provision, I don't mean money, I mean the provision that we were His.  We even had the conversation so what if we foreclose...well what if we do?  We're still His and He still loves us. 

So, when I hear people say God blessed them with this or that and God provides their material needs, it bugs me.  Sometimes, our basic needs are not provided for. Sometimes we're hungry and we're poor (truly).  What I've come to learn that the phrase means that regardless of our earthly state, God provides what we need and what we need is totally Him.  It isn't about our humanity, it's about our relationship with Him.  That's still a hard concept for me. 

Alright, that's my thought for today that started a few weeks ago...still working through that.

Well Hello there................

I know I've been MIA for awhile.  Summer has been awesome & crazy all at the same time. The kids and I spent two weeks in Florida.  The first week, I was with my YoYos and the second week with family.  It was absolutely incredible. I honestly had a really hard time coming back to reality.  Whenever I'm with my family, it takes me a little bit to reacclimate to life.  I get a bit resentful to be so far away and I kind of just want to stay in my shell and then I pop back out of  it.  I realize we are where we're supposed to be for now and that's okay with me.  I still get sad leaving..it was quite painful for all 3 of us this time.  This was K's first time to be so distraught about leaving Nana & Coachy.  A & I always cry and carry on when it's time to say goodbye.

But, we're back and we've enjoyed June and some of July now.  We stay busy with playdates and pools.  I have really enjoyed all the time we've spent together as a family.  Levi has been going to work SUPER early and getting a lot of his studying and prep work done before others are out and about.  We've done a lot of fun, family stuff and it's been great.

I'll write more...I've got one more blog topic in my brain so I'm going to go with it while I'm thinking about it.